Calexico High set to reopen after mercury spill

CALEXICO – One of the city's two public high schools will reopen Thursday after being closed for two days due to mercury spilled during an accident on the campus, Imperial county health officials said Wednesday.

Calexico High School was closed Tuesday due to the spill, which actually occurred a week ago. Federal, state and county environmental health officials determined Wednesday afternoon it was safe to allow the school's approximately 2,200 students to return.

However, it will not reopen completely.

A dozen classrooms will remain closed due to high levels of mercury in the air, and three areas outside those classrooms will remain off-limits for the same reason, said Andrea Bowers, a spokeswoman for the county's public health department.

Between two and four tablespoonsof mercury were released during the spill, she said.

Exposure to even small levels of mercury can be lethal.

According to David Groesbeck, superintendent of the Calexico Unified School District, it all began Jan. 29 when the cuff on a blood pressure monitor popped while students were handling it.

The monitor was in a multipurpose classroom used for teaching evening classes in medical technology, but the incident occurred during regular school hours by students who weren't supposed to be handling the monitor, he said.

The students said nothing about the incident, but a teacher overheard them talking about it and reported it to the principal late Friday, the superintendent said. Imperial County health officials learned of it last Monday.

Mercury becomes liquid at room temperature, disperses into smaller droplets that move easily and can readily stick to shoes, clothing or skin. Exposure to mercury can damage the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and the immune system, especially in young children.

It can't be vacuumed or swept up because doing so might spread more droplets of it into the air and increase the possibility of exposure.

Sixty-five of about 155 students who may have been exposed to the mercury have been screened for exposure, including their clothing, shoes and backpacks, Bowers said. Many of the school's 90 faculty and staff will also have their clothing checked, Groesbeck said.

In both cases, the screening is likely to continue, perhaps days after the school reopens.

“We moved very aggressively on this,” Groesbeck said. “We want to err on the side of caution.”